VietnamPlus online newspaper celebrates its 15th anniversary and receives the First-Class Labor Medal.

The ceremony was honored to receive congratulatory flower arrangements from General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Vo Van Thuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

Vietnam Plus online newspaper commemorates 15 years of establishment and receives first-class labor medal (Figure 1). — Delegates attending the ceremony

Attending the ceremony were: Ms. Vo Thi Anh Xuan, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Vice President of Vietnam; Mr. Le Quoc Minh, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association; along with representatives from ministries, departments, and agencies; representatives from many diplomatic agencies and international organizations; and leaders and colleagues from central and local press agencies.

Vietnam Plus online newspaper commemorates 15 years of establishment and receives first-class labor medal (Figure 2). — Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan presents the First Class Labor Order to VietnamPlus Online Newspaper.

In his commemorative speech, journalist Tran Tien Duan, Editor-in-Chief of VietnamPlus online newspaper, announced that at exactly 5 PM on November 13, 2008, the Vietnam News Agency officially launched VietnamPlus (Vietnam+) - the official online newspaper of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

Having been established relatively late, VietnamPlus has chosen a cautious approach, forging its own path to connect with readers by strongly applying modern technology, embracing and grasping media development trends, constantly improving its operational methods and journalistic style, and especially by producing unique journalistic products of high professional quality.

Vietnam Plus online newspaper commemorates 15 years of establishment and receives first-class labor medal (Figure 3). — Journalist Tran Tien Duan, Editor-in-Chief of VietnamPlus online newspaper, delivered the opening speech at the ceremony.

Fifteen years of effort and creativity have resulted in over 100 major and minor journalism awards, including 51 awards from the five major journalism award systems: the National Journalism Award (6 A-level awards); the Foreign Affairs Award (5 First Prizes); the Golden Hammer and Sickle Award (1 A-level award); the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Negative Practice Award; and the Dien Hong Award. In addition, VietnamPlus has won three international journalism awards.

In addition, VietnamPlus has been recognized with numerous international awards from prestigious organizations such as WAN-IFRA (World News Publishers Association, for its RapNewsPlus product, an anti-fake news product), and OANA (Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies, for its Chatbot product), and was once ranked by WAN-IFRA among the world's most innovative small newsrooms.

"Currently, VietnamPlus online newspaper is rapidly progressing in its digital transformation, having completed its digital ecosystem and will soon be accelerating the application of artificial intelligence in editorial management and product development. The newspaper continues to strive to maintain its position as the national foreign affairs online newspaper under the Vietnam News Agency; diversify information products, produce large-scale, in-depth, multimedia, and multi-platform articles; and endeavor to be a pioneer in applying new technologies to the creation and production of journalistic works, meeting the demands of the public," affirmed Editor-in-Chief Tran Tien Duan.

Vietnam Plus online newspaper commemorates 15 years of establishment and receives first-class labor medal (Figure 4). — The first "Captain" of VietnamPlus Online Newspaper - journalist Le Quoc Minh - Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, and President of the Vietnam Journalists Association, shared about the difficult early days of VietnamPlus Online Newspaper.

Attending and speaking very emotionally, the first "Captain" of VietnamPlus Online Newspaper - journalist Le Quoc Minh - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, and President of the Vietnam Journalists Association, shared: "I remember the difficult early days, the entire editorial office was crammed into a tiny attic room, while I was given a corner of about 8 square meters in the hallway, with walls only slightly higher than a person's head, but it was in that room that many ideas were born."

Journalist Le Quoc Minh also vividly remembers the terrible feeling when VietnamPlus first launched and encountered technological problems, until it switched to a new content management system in July 2009. From that point on, the name VietnamPlus became associated with modern journalistic technologies, quickly grasping trends in journalism and technology worldwide to continuously release groundbreaking information products.

“From an editorial office with a team mostly made up of recent graduates, the newspaper now possesses an extremely skilled workforce. I haven't directly managed VietnamPlus since the end of 2017, but the memories of the journey will never fade,” shared the newspaper's first Editor-in-Chief.

Vietnam Plus online newspaper commemorates 15 years of establishment and receives first-class labor medal (Figure 5). — The VietnamPlus Online Newspaper Branch also received a Certificate of Merit from the Vietnam Journalists Association.

Also at the ceremony, on behalf of the Party Committee and the leadership of the Vietnam News Agency, Director General Vu Viet Trang acknowledged and highly appreciated the achievements that VietnamPlus online newspaper has made over the past 15 years.

To maintain its position as the national online foreign affairs newspaper, Comrade Vu Viet Trang requested that the VietnamPlus online newspaper team continue to promote a dynamic, creative, and united spirit, defining its role and position as a source of official information serving the Party's leadership, the State's management, and the people's interests; strengthening the dissemination of positive information and combating the false narratives of hostile forces in cyberspace.

Vietnam Plus online newspaper commemorates 15 years of establishment and receives first-class labor medal (Figure 6). — Director General of Vietnam News Agency Vu Viet Trang delivered a speech at the ceremony.

On behalf of the Party and State leaders, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan presented the First-Class Order to VietnamPlus Online Newspaper, commending the achievements the newspaper has made in recent years. The Vice President also presented the newspaper with a portrait of President Ho Chi Minh, as a message to the staff of the Vietnam News Agency in general, and VietnamPlus in particular, to continue to move forward, doing a good job in information and propaganda work, especially as the nation's leading foreign affairs newspaper.

The VietnamPlus Online Newspaper Branch also received a Certificate of Merit from the Vietnam Journalists Association. In addition, the Director General of the Vietnam News Agency presented Certificates of Merit to the following individuals: Tran Tien Duan, Editor-in-Chief of VietnamPlus Online Newspaper; Doan Ngoc Thu, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of VietnamPlus Online Newspaper; and reporter Vo Manh Hung.

Vietnam Plus online newspaper commemorates 15 years of establishment and receives first-class labor medal (Figure 7). — To celebrate its 15th anniversary, VietnamPlus online newspaper has launched a new interface.

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, VietnamPlus online newspaper launched a new interface, designed to keep pace with global journalistic trends, incorporating artificial intelligence into its operations and news management, and understanding reader needs using modern User Needs technology. In addition to retaining its unique features, VietnamPlus also enhances the reader experience with new content formats such as Web Stories and Short Videos.

Vietnam Plus online newspaper commemorates 15 years of establishment and receives first-class labor medal (image 8). — Deputy Editor-in-Chief of VietnamPlus online newspaper, Nguyen Hoang Nhat, introduced the new interface with a design that keeps up with global journalistic trends and incorporates artificial intelligence.

In particular, to complete its digital ecosystem, VietnamPlus has delivered news (both via Text-to-Speech and reader interaction) to the Maika Smart Speaker platform using the Vietnamese virtual assistant. This is also a step in VietnamPlus's Mobile First strategy, a pillar in its Digital Transformation process. The newspaper also launched a mini-app to reach millions of Zalo users, and a Progressive WebApp that directly sends breaking news to registered users' devices.

Ha Van - Minh Son

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